Reverend Raven and The Chain Smokin' Altar Boys with special guests Westside Andy, Jimmy Voegeli, Mike Wheeler, and Toronzo Cannon on the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise #26, somewhere in the Caribbean, on January 19, 2016.
Reverend Raven - slide guitar and vocals P.T. Pedersen - bass Bobby Lee Sellers - drums Westside Andy - harmonica Toronzo Cannon - guitar Mike Wheeler - guitar Jimmy Voegeli - keyboards
Earlier today a friend and I drove over to see Reverend Raven and the Chain Smoking Alter Boys with Westside Andy playing in Decatur, IL. They are a tight band with good interaction and use of dynamics. Great musicianship by all! The rhythm section was a groove machine. Rev sang and played guitar, and he is really good. Andy sang and blew harp through a Quilter.
In my opinion, based on his playing with this band both as front line soloing instrumentalist and as a comping sideman, Westside Andy should be rated as being among the top players touring today. He played incredible lines, had monster tone, showcased a wide range of blues harp techniques in solos and when comping, and put on the best harp performance in a blues band that I can recall. I have heard greats at SPAH and HCH, I have CDs, I have been to clubs. Westside Andy is a MONSTER blues harp musician. See this band if you get the chance!
Andy was here in Pensacole this year with Reverand Raven, and they were the opening act at the Northwest Florida Blues Society Monday Blues Jam. I got to play through his rig, which was the Quilter. It sounded great, and I spent a bit of time with Andy. Great player, and a real nice guy. ----------
